Free Walking Tour in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town

One of our favorite things to do to get the lay of the land in a new city are free city walking tours, and Cape Town, South Africa has three: the History City Tour, the Bo-Kaap Tour, and the Apartheid to Freedom Tour. You can check all of them out here on the Free Walking Tours website.  

We did two of the three free walking tours: the Historic City Tour and the Bo-Kaap Tour. This article focuses on the Bo-Kaap Walking Tour. 

General Tour Information

Aside from being free, another great thing about Cape Town’s free walking tours is that no booking is required, unless you have a group of 10 or more. All you have to do is show up! 

Tours are provided every day, 365 days a year, rain or sunshine, at: 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 4:20 PM. 

Each tour lasts approximately 1.5 hours and is provided in English. No other languages are currently offered.  

All you have to do is show up at Church Square on Parliament Street at your desired time and look for a tour guide with a green umbrella.

Tour Times

11:00 AM – Historic City Tour and the Apartheid to Freedom Tour

2:00 PM – Bo Kaap Tour and the Apartheid to Freedom Tour 

4:20 PM – Bo-Kaap Tour and the Historic City Tour

Private Tours may also be requested for larger groups (10+ people), as well as customized tours, such as the Diamond Mining History, Taste of Cape Town, and Art & Music Tours. Customized tours are currently on hold, but may be available at the time of your trip. Just double check their website or reach out to the company to confirm. 

A bit of history on Bo-Kaap:

Bo-Kaap is a Muslim Cape Malay neighborhood where many former slaves settled after emancipation during the 1830s. Contrary to what you may think, Malay is not short for Malaysian. The Cape Malay people actually include a mixture of ethnic backgrounds, including Indian, Malaysian, and Indonesian, as well as African. Malay actually comes from the Malay language spoken by Islamic scholars imprisoned or enslaved in the Cape who taught the language and unified the former slave community. 

Due to its Muslim heritage, Bo-Kaap it is a dry community, so you won’t find any alcohol in the neighborhood. Alcohol and other intoxicants are forbidden in Islam because one is not meant to harm oneself. You’ll also find several small mosques, including the oldest mosque in South Africa. 

Today, Bo-Kaap is one of the most photographed places in Cape Town and is filled with colorful buildings and houses along quaint cobblestone roads. The buildings were originally painted white and there are several theories about how they came to be brightly colored. One theory is that it was hard to tell the buildings apart when they were all painted white and that the colors helped people distinguish the buildings. Another theory is that they liked having color because it was bland during the time of slavery and the colors were a metaphor for their freedom. A third theory is that different colors represented different families. And the final, least exciting theory is that people just painted the houses as they liked and the bright colors caught on. 

Here’s what you’ll see on the Bo-Kaap Tour:

Iziko Slave Lodge

This is one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town dating back to 1679. From 1679 to 1811, it housed between 7,000 and 9,000 slaves from the Dutch East India Company before becoming government offices for the British. It became a museum in 1966. However, at the time it primarily focused on the culture of the Dutch and British colonists. And it wasn’t until the 1990s that it began focusing on slavery. Today, the exhibits focus on the history of slavery in South Africa and human rights awareness. As you travel up Wale street from the Slave Lodge to Bo-Kaap, you’ll be following the path known as the ‘walk to freedom’ that the slaves took when they were emancipated. The museum is open Monday – Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission is 30 ZAR ($1.75 USD). For more information on the Iziko Slave Lodge, click here. 

Honest Chocolate Cafe

A small artisanal coffee and chocolate shop housed in one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. Their goods are handmade using local, organic ingredients. Enjoy a coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, along with decadent chocolate truffles, tarts, and cakes. They also have gluten free and vegan friendly options, like dairy-free milkshakes, their iced coconut dream drink, and banana bread bunny chow. You can dine in the cafe or in their charming back courtyard, where there’s also a secret gin bar in the evenings. For more information, check out their website. 

Auwal Masjid

This the oldest mosque in South Africa built in 1794 by a freed Black Muslim slave in Bo-Kaap. It’s the first place where Muslim and the Malay language were formally taught and also houses a handwritten copy of the Qur’an written by Tuan Guru, an Indonesian prince imprisoned on Robben Island who rewrote the sacred text from memory. The mosque is painted green, which is said to be the prophet Mohammed’s favorite color. It is said that he wore a green cloak and turban, and that he frequently referenced the color in his writings. The 5 palm trees lining the sidewalk in front of the mosque are also symbolic, representing the 5 pillars of Islam.

Faeeza’s Home Kitchen

A quaint Bo-Kaap home kitchen restaurant and cooking school serving traditional Cape Malay cuisine, like bobotie and koesister. Bobotie originated with South Africa’s Asian settlers and is now the country’s national dish. It’s a baked minced meat casserole mixed with spices and topped with an egg and milk mixture. And koesister is a spiced donut-like pastry dipped in syrup and sprinkled with coconut. You can order Faeeza’s tasting menu for 100 ZAR ($6 USD) and sample a variety of traditional appetizers, bobotie, and koesister. Or book their cooking class for 550 ZAR/person ($31 USD). Fraeeza’s Home Kitchen has grown quite a name for itself and has been visited by several famous people, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and was also featured on the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil. For more information on Faeeza’s Home Kitchen or to schedule a cooking class, check out their website here. 

Scenic Viewpoint of Bo-Kaap

If you follow up a short flight of steps on Yusuf Drive near the Biesmiellah Restaurant, you get to a great viewpoint, where you can capture pictures of colorful Bo-Kaap, Table Mountain, and Devil’s Peak. 

Bo-Kaap Heritage Mural

A mural painted by Iranian artist, Nasser Palangi, in an arched passageway on Wale Street depicting Malay culture. The mural depicts Sheikh Yusuf shrine, an Indonesian Muslim responsible for establishing Islam in Cape Town; a local building; boys studying the Qur’an; musicians; a horse drawn carriage; and traditional clothing, including bridal gowns, conical and fez hats, doeks (head scarves), turbans, and badjoes or coats. 

Colorful Streets

The biggest draw to Bo-Kaap are the colorful streets, lined with rows of brightly colored houses in nearly every shade of the rainbow. You’ll see sunflower yellow, lime green, blood orange, hot pink, aqua blue, and African violet. One of the most colorful and photographed streets in Cape Town is Chiappini Street, along with Rose Street and Wale Street. But keep in mind that many of the buildings are people’s homes, so please be respectful.  

Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum

The museum is one of the oldest homes in Bo-Kaap. It was originally built during the 18th century and later belonged to a wealthy Muslim family after slavery was abolished in the 19th century. In 1978, it was turned into a museum and is furnished and decorated as it would have been in the 19th century, giving guests an idea of Islamic culture and what it might have been like to live during that time. The museum is located on Wale Street and costs 20 ZAR to visit. 

Atlas Trading Company

A Malay spice shop established in 1946. Spices were first brought to the region by the Dutch East India Company in the 1600s. Due to South Africa’s history, their cuisine is a fusion of Indigenous, European, and Asian dishes, making spices a big part of the cuisine. If you want to test your ability to take the heat, try the Mother in Law spice blend, a fiery combination made from cumin, coriander, turmeric, star anise, fennel, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, bay leaves, peri-peri, and chili powder. 

Tipping the Tour Guide

While it is a free walking tour, tipping is recommended. This is the guide’s only source of income from the tour and enables them to continue providing this service. We recommend tipping about 100-200 ZAR/person ($5-10 USD).  

Other Free Tours in Cape Town 

For more information on free walking tours in Cape Town click here. 

Or check out our article on the Free Historic City Walking Tour.